Naqlun: Life on the Fringes of Society and the Ecosystem

Join us for a talk featuring Robert Mahler, researcher at the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Poland, for a deep dive into the evolution of the Naqlun monastery.

The Naqlun monastery, ancient Nekloni, was established in the fifth or sixth century CE. Approximately 90 hermitages were scattered throughout the Naqlun mountains, with the central buildings of this semi-anachoretic community located at the foot of these mountains. According to written sources, a century after the establishment of the monastery, there were 120 monks and 200 lay people living there.

A pivotal point in the history of the site occurred in the 10th or 11th century CE, when a fire consumed the central complex. Around the church—which apparently remained in use after the conflagration—the late cemetery began to form in the ruins of the upper terrace during the 11th to 13th centuries. Simultaneously, in the 11th century, the Church of the Archangel Gabriel, located a few meters to the west of these ruins, was adorned with new wall paintings of exceptional beauty.

While the subsequent history of the site remains uncertain, it most probably maintained its monastic character over the following centuries. When Polish archaeological excavations in Naqlun began in 1986, the monastery was home to just two monks; today, there are more than 70.

Research in Naqlun was funded in part by the National Science Centre, Poland (2022/47/D/HS3/02162). Current conservation of the wall paintings in the narthex of the Church of the Archangel Gabriel is funded by the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) Antiquities Endowment Fund grant.